Venetian blind bracket



June14, 1932. E. ANDERSON 1,363,093

I VENETIAN BLIND BRACKET Filed Feb. 21. 1931 Patented June 14, 1932 PATENT OFFICE EDWIN ANDERSON, OF LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA vnnnrmn B'Lnm BRACKET Application filed February 21, 1931.

The present invention relates to brackets, and particularly to a supporting bracket and actuator for Venetian blinds.

One of the objects of the present invention is the rovision of a Venetian blind actuator so designed that certain parts, which-normally protrude into view, are concealed in the framing of the opening and, further, being of such design that it may be operated by a cord or chain stretched in any position from a horizontal to a vertical position, according to the position of the operator in the room.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a bracket and actuatorof the above 5 stated character which is very simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and which can be readily placed and secured in position by unskilled persons.

With these and other objects in view, the

g invention resides in sundry details of construction, combination and arran ement of parts hereinafter more fully descri ed in the appended claims.

this specification and the annexed drawing, the invention is disclosed in the form in which it is considered to be the best, but the invention is not limited to such form because it is capable of being embodied in other forms; and it is to be understood that in and by the claims following the description herein it is intended to cover the invention in whatever form it may embody within the scope thereof.

In the drawing, which shows the preferred embodiment of the invention as at present devised: r

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a Venetian blind supported in a window opening by brackets, one of which is the bracket and actuator of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the bracket and actuatoras shown in Fig. 1, but on an en- 451ar edscale;

. 'g. 4'is a. vertical sectional view taken through the pulleywheel; and --Fig. .5 is a, fra entary sectional view taken through the dnt'edge ofthe bracket plate showing a modified form of 'cord guide.

' shown in the form of a segmental member.

- sleeves orbosses 22 are formed on opposite Serial No. 517,583.

With particular reference to the drawing, in' which like characters denote similar and like parts throughout the several views, a louvre or Venetian blind S of conventional type is shown supported at its upper end cor- 55 ners by brackets A and B secured to the upper edge of the window opening or frame F. The blind S is of usual construction including a plurality of spaced superposed slats held in position by straps or cords c and suse0 pended from a header slat h. By tilting the header supporting bracket-s A and B, the slats can be moved to vertical and horizontal position so as to bring them into overlapping or edge-to-edge position to exclude light and air or to spaced horizontal position to admit light and air, or to any intermediate position. Blinds of this type are well known in the art, and the present invention is applicable to any blind of this general type.

The invention resides particularly in the combined bracket and actuator A, which comprises an attaching or base plate 10 having a laterally extending bracket arm 11, which, when the bracket is in its normal position, depends from the plate. The plate 10 is provided with a plurality of openings through which fastening screws may extend to secure the plate against the upper edge of a Window or door opening, as clearly shown in the drawing. The depending bracket arm 11 is reduced in width toward its lower end and is formed with a laterally extending boss 12 on the inner face of its lower extremit from which rises a substantially Vertical r11) 13. An opening 14 is provided through the boss and the plate, through which a rivet or spindle 16 extends for securing in position a rocker or oscillating member 17, which is here I The rocker member 17 is actuated from a shaft 18 which extends through the bracket plate 10 as to be normally in a substantially vertical position. Bearings in the form of sides of the plate for supporting the shaft in position. The outer end of the shaft carries a pulley wheel 19 and the other end of the shaft carries an actuating member 20 for engaging-and operating the rocker 17 The rocker at one side of the rocker, said teeth being such as to form a hypoid gear. It

has also been found to be desirable to position the sleeves 22 so that the shaft 18 will be slightly inclined with 'respect to the vertical, as illustrated in .Fig. 2. p

The pulley wheel 19 is formed with a groove 23 havingits side walls converging, and each wall having spaced enlargements 23 protruding therefrom. The pulley is made up of twocompl'emental disks e and 3 each forming one wall of the groove 23 and each half being movable relative to the other, the half at being formed with an axial arbor z,'upon which the half 3/ is mounted and rotates, the result being that when strain is exerted upon the pull cord 24 to rotate the pulley, the normal frictional contact of the'cord with the side walls of the groove will cause one half of the pulley to move relative to the other so that the-cord will become bound or clamped .between the raised surfaces 23 in the groove, thus preventing the cord from slipping over the pulley without effecting an operation of the rocker member 17. The arbor e is formed with a bore to receive the end of the shaft 18. 7

Guide rolls 25 are journaled on the front end of the bracket plate 10, one engageable by one reach of the cord. These guides may be any other means which will direct the reaches of the cords to ,the groove. 23 of the pulley 19, and they may also be desired to prevent frictional wear on the cord, as shown in Fig. 4.

The header h of the blind is provided with trunnions one of which is engageable in the bracket B, which may be of any desired construction, and the other of which may be detachably engageable with the rocker member 17 One example of the manner in which the header may be engaged with the rocker 17 is shown inthe drawing by means of two openings 26, one arranged on each side of the axis 16 of the rocker member. These openings detachably receive two projecting pins 27 on the adjacent end of the header. The-openings 26 are so arranged and the pins 27' are of such length as to project through the openings 26 that they will strike against the rib 13 at the limit. of the range of movement of the rocker and thus act'as stops, preventing the disengagement of the gear teeth 21 from the worm 20. However, any

other form of detachable connection between the header and the rocker 17 may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

In order to apply the bracket A, it is ordi- 17 and to 2 narily necessary to form a recess 28 in the edge of the opening to which the blind is used so as to accommodate the pulley wheel rovide two notches or bores 29 extending opening to the recess 28, through which the pull cord may extend. Guide sleeves or openings 25a may be produced on the front edge of the bracket plate 10a by providing an upturned flange, or in any other suitable manner as shown in Fig. 5. These tubular guides or' sleeves 25a are preferably flared at their ends, particularly at their 'outer ends so'as to present a smooth nonfrictional surface to the cord 24, and may be used in lieu of the idle rollers 25. Since -Venetian blind brackets are usually permanently placed in position, the recess 28 formed in the window framing or opening has not been found to be objectionable, but provides a means for housing and concealing the pulley and the actuating shaft from view, thus makinga much neater appearance. Furthermore, because of the position of the shaft 18 and pulley 19,

the tilting operation of the blind may be performed by pulling the cord 24 from any position which the operator may be in within the room, whereas in previous devices it has been necessary to pull the cords at a substantially perpendicular line with respect to the bracket.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A supporting bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a bracket member, a shiftable member mounted on said bracket for tilting the header of a blind, and actuator means for operating said shiftable member and having a substantially vertical axis, and a pulley cord extending about the axis of said actuating means. 2. A bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a base member having a depending arm, a shiftable member mounted on said-arm, arotatable shaft mounted on and extending through said base, means on one end of the shaft for engaging said shiftable member, and a pulley wheel mounted on the other end of said shaft, said pulley wheel bein adapted to havea flexible actuating cor passed therearound. i

3. A bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a base member havin a depending arm, I

a rocker member mounte on said arm, a rdtatable, shaft mounted on and extending through said base, 'means on one end of the shaft for engaging said rocker member, and a pulley wheel mounted on the other end of said shaft, said pulley wheel being adapted to have a flexible actuating cord eased therearound, the forward end of said ase member having anti-frictional guide means thereon to be engaged by the reaches of said cord and directing said reaches to said ulley wheel.

4. A bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a bracket member, a rocker member rom the outer side faces of the 79 able about a normally horizontal axis, an actuator for said rocker member including a substantially vertical shaft extending through the base plate, means on one end of the shaft for engagement with said rocker, andfa pulley wheel on the other end of the sha t.

, 6. A bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a base plate normally assuming a horizontal position when in use, a bracket arm depending therefrom, a rocker member movable about a normally horizontal axis, an actuator for said rocker member including a substantially vertical shaft extending through the base plate, means on one end of the shaft for engagement with said rocker, a pulley wheel on' the other end of the shaft, guide means on the bracket, and a pull cord trained around said pulley wheel and in engagement with said guidemeans.

7. A bracket for Venetian blinds comprising a bracket member having a horizontal base plate and a depending arm, a segmental rocker member pivotally mounted on the arm and having laterally extending spiral teeth on one side thereof along the arcuate edge of said member a vertically inclined rotatable shaft extending throughthe base plate and having a worm mounted on its lower end and positioned to en age said teeth,,a pulley on the outer end 0% said shaft, and 'means on said rocker member for detachable connection with a blind header, and a pull cord for actuating said pulley.

. 8. A blind bracket comprising a bracket member, means on the bracket for actuating the blind including a pulley com osed of a pair of disks, one of said disks aving an axially extending arbor upon which the other disk is rotatably mounted, means on the end of said arbor for maintaining said sections together, the circumferentially opposed surfaces of said disks being complementally formed to provide a circumferential groove for the pulley, the opposing walls of said groove being formed with a spaced series of radially extending enlargements.

9. An actuator for Venetian'blinds comprising a bracket member securable to a support for supportingthe blind in position, actuating means on the bracket for moving a blind to a plurality of positions, said means includinga pull cord for operating said actuatin means, a pair of guide rollers mounted on t e front edge of the bracket over which the reaches of the cord are trained and from which they depend, said guide rollers being positioned on the bracket to guide the cord to said actuating means and permitting the line of ull on the cord to be at various angles wit respect to the actuating means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 111 band.

y EDWIN ANDERSON. 

